Identity Crisis

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

(Acts 2:17-18)

The prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32) had talked about this day ealier. Before the Lord returns He would enpower men and women to speak for Him. This power is the Holy Spirit. He alone gives the believer the boldness to do things beyond understanding. As with the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 2) even today folks will think us to be rather strange when we speak about the things of God.

The Holy Spirit is not some thing we get when we feel excited about a song of a sermon. It is not some thing we experience only when we pray a special way. The Holy Spirit is a person, the Spirit of God, that dwells within every believer the day one becomes saved by faith in Jesus Christ.
To be baptized in the Spirit (Acts 1:5)is simply to be identified with the Father as Christ was on the day He was baptized by John. (John 1:32-34)

Sadly, there is an identity crisis within the churches today. We can identify with songs, sermons, and situations in people's lives yet we do not often identify with what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do. We are waiting to get something we already possess. We are looking for guidance . . . searching for direction . . . seeking advice. The Holy Spirit is just waiting for us to hand over control!

Once we accept Christ as Lord and Savior, we receive the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit! It is not something we turn on and off . . . He is always present. The question is, will we allow Him to rule and work in our lives as in the days of that first Pentecost?